Home
by KaliHaines
Summary: Dorothy starts to wonder where her real home really is.
1. Chapter 1

_There's no place like home._

Dorothy Gale had made it back to her little farmhouse in Kansas and her life went back to normal. She went back to working on the farm every day and went to school like any regular teenager. She made friends but wasn't able to keep them long when her obligations were to help her Aunt and Uncle after school.

Dorothy would drift off sometimes and imagine she was back in Oz with her friends until Aunt Em yelled at her to get her head out of the clouds. She new it wasn't a dream. And even though they all told her they believed her, deep down she new that they would never truly believe what had actually happened.

One day after school, Dorothy decided to walk downtown to do some shopping. She bought a small notebook with some of the money she had earned from selling eggs. She skipped home and placed it underneath her bed. In it, she started to write down her vivid memories that she had of Oz. She wrote about Munchkin Land, Glinda, the Wicked Witch, the Emerald City, her dear friends, and everything in between.

Three years passed since her arrival back. Dorothy woke up at 5 AM and changed into a pair of brown pants and a checkered blue and white button up. She took two ribbons and tied her hair back into two braids. She pulled on a pair of brown flats and grabbed a basket from the kitchen. She set out to do her morning routine of collecting eggs and milking the cows. After setting the eggs and milk on the counter, she went back to her room and changed into her school uniform. It was a long gray skirt with a long sleeved white button up. She sat on her bed and slid her white socks onto her bare feet and slipped on a pair of black flats. She grabbed her shoulder bag that hung from the side of her bed and walked outside. Zeke, Hunk, and Hickery arrived just on time for her to wave goodbye as she followed the dirt road to school.

Dorothy's school was a small building in town next to the church. The kids were of all ages and sat on wooden benches around the room. Dorothy was the second oldest and also one of three girls. The boys around her yelled and threw paper, but it didn't bother her.

Ms. Brown quieted them down, "Class, you have an assignment due on Friday and I would like it to be of great quality, do you understand? I only want the best from all of you!" She preached in a tiny voice, "Please write in great detail about something important that has happened to you. It can be about anything. Use your imagination as well!" She smiled and clasped her hands together in front of her, "Does everyone understand the assignment?" The boys mumbled in disappointment but Dorothy grinned in delight.

Dorothy went home after class and immediately pulled out her notebook from under her bed.

"The air smelled like candy and the breeze blew through my hair ever so gently as I skipped down the Yellow Brick Road. Toto was trotting excitedly behind me. He followed in pursuit of the ruby red slippers that wrapped around my feet perfectly. My blue and white-checkered dress hugged the front of my legs as my momentum pushed the fabric back against them. I had never really seen colors until then. This world was so bright and beautiful that I could finally see things I couldn't see before. Even my dress had a different glow to it. But my cheeks were red with determination. I needed to get back.

I came to a fork in the road and stopped. I wasn't sure which way to go. The wrong way could possibly lead me to my death. I turned to my furry friend and asked, 'Well now, which way do we go?'. And from behind me I heard a voice answer my question, 'Well pardon me, but that seems like a very nice way'. I turned quickly to see a scarecrow dangling limply from a pole. My dog was sure that the scarecrow had talked but I didn't want to believe him. So many odd things had already happened to me that day and I didn't know if I could take any more. But I soon realized that this scarecrow was actually talking to me. He was alive and well and completely made out of straw. I boldly asked him, 'Well how can you talk if you haven't got a brain?' and he replied to me, 'Well some people without brains do an awful lot of talkin', don't they?' and I've agreed with him ever since.

My journey was long and sometimes terrifying, but I made many friends that I will always hold dear to my heart. I long for the next time that I'm able to see them. If there is a next time, I may not let go as easily as I did the last time," Dorothy looked up from the paper and said unrehearsed, "I want to go home."

Ms. Brown pulled her aside after class, "Dorothy I think your story was beautiful. It may not have fit the assignment perfectly but I would love to see you write a whole book based on this imaginary world of yours. I want to hear more about it someday. There are not many girls I have taught that write so beautifully. You are very talented."

Dorothy clutched her bag, "Um, I could do that! So many things happened to me so I'm sure I could write a whole novel about it!" She realized what she had said and tried to correct herself, "I have many more ideas for this imaginary world. I hope to make you proud!"

Dorothy skipped home and started writing right away. The first chapter started during the day of the twister and ended by saying, 'Toto, I don't believe we're in Kansas anymore". She closed her book and wrote on the cover "Over the Rainbow".

She sighed and touched the letters with her hands. She started to hum a familiar tune when Aunt Em knocked on her door, "Dorothy! You need to finish your chores, it's nearly 6 O'clock!"

"Coming Auntie Em!" Dorothy called back to her. She slid the book under her bed and ran out to finish the chores that she did every day.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hunk, do you believe in other worlds?" Dorothy asked as she grabbed an egg from its nest. Toto sat at her feet and looked up at her.

Hunk slammed his shovel into the ground, picking up a mound of dirt, "Dorothy, you know we been through this. You hit yer head and dreamed a' that Ooz place or whatever its called. No use frettin' about it now. You've been back with us for a good three years now and its gonna stay that way." Hunk hurled the dirt into a pile off to the side.

"Oz, Hunk. It's called Oz. And it WAS real. I know I didn't dream it up. It was way too real. You might not believe me but Toto does. He was there with me." She looked down and Toto wagged his tail. She smiled and bent down to pet him on the head, "Well anyway, I have an assignment from my teacher to write a story so I'm going to write about Oz. I bought a new notebook and everything. I would like to read it to you sometime," She turned to look at Hunk who was shoveling dirt and fully ignoring her, "Hunk!"

Hunk jumped in alarm and fell down into the small hole he had dug up, "Jeepers Dorothy, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

Dorothy didn't walk out to help him up. Tears started welling in her eyes, "You know, you always used to be the one I would come to with my problems and stories, but now you're just like the rest of them. I will not be anything more than a farm hand to you anymore. I'm done being your friend if you are going to ignore me when I want to share something important with you. I'm sorry I'm just a child and a freak to you." She grabbed her basket of eggs and marched into the house. Hunk sat in the dirt and stared at the house. He sighed and wiped his face in frustration.

Dorothy sat on her bed with Toto curled up next to her, "There's no place like home when you know you're going to be made fun of every day, huh Toto?" Toto growled.

"_When all the world is a hopeless jumble_," she sang quietly as she played with the bottom of her black and white gingham dress, "Come on Toto, let's go for a walk." Toto's ears perked up and he leapt off of the bed in a full sprint towards the door.

Dorothy snuck out the front door and closed it with precaution. With Toto trotting behind her, she briskly walked to the white picket fence and then she was free. Her long braids dangled down her back as she followed the road toward where Professor Marvel had lived, "I wish we could visit Professor Marvel, but he just had to move away," She sighed as Toto barked solemnly, "He was my only other friend besides you, Toto. And now he's gone."

Dorothy ventured off of the road to where Marvel's caravan had been. The only evidence that he had ever been there was a stool that sat crookedly in the grass. She placed it upright and sat down on it. Toto sat down in front of Dorothy and stared up at her, "Don't give me that look, Toto. You're going to make me sad. I miss them too," She looked up toward the sky as the wind began to whisper through the trees around her.

_ Come home._

Dorothy jumped as she heard the faint sound. She looked around at the bare woods surrounding her, "It was just the wind," Toto started barking at something behind her. Dorothy's eyes widened in fright. She didn't want to turn around. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists as Toto continued to bark. _Just turn around Dorothy, _she told herself.

_Come home_

The wind blew violently and Dorothy turned around. There was no person or animal behind her but something seemed different. There was a small clearing between two of the trees and she saw something almost hidden by the blades of grass. She stood up and Toto barked again, "Toto be quiet it's just something on the ground." She walked over slowly and looked down. A door that looked exactly like the farmhouse's was laying flat on the ground. Dorothy wrinkled her eyebrows in confusion.

"If you go in, you won't come back out," Dorothy's head shot up in alarm. A man walked out from behind a tree just beyond the door. He had dark green hair that hung down around his face. On top of his head he wore a black top hat with clock gears decorating the surface. He looked to be a little older than Dorothy but seemed so mature. He wore a black suit with a green tie around his neck. His gloves were black lace and in his hands he held a beautiful pair of ruby slippers that Dorothy knew all too well.

"You have my ruby slippers!" Dorothy gasped and tried to step around the door to go to the man but for some reason she couldn't move. She struggled but still couldn't budge, "Who are you?" She asked him in fright.

He set the slippers down on the ground and approached her, "I am not your enemy Dorothy," He walked around the door and stood in front of her. Toto barked but was shut up by the snap of the man's fingers, "I was sent here because I was informed that you have to make a choice," He ran his fingers through Dorothy's hair and set his hand to rest on her cheek, "You can come with me back to Oz," he let go of her and just stared into her eyes. She noticed they were bright green just like Oz had been, "Or you can stay here and work as a farm girl the rest of your life. You only have one chance Dorothy."

"So Oz IS real. I wasn't imagining it, and it wasn't a dream. They were all wrong," She looked back into his eyes and smiled, "Your eyes are the color that I dream about every night," the man's eyes widened and he looked away, "Oz always comes back to me in my dreams. Are you sure this isn't a dream as well?"

He looked back at her and held out his hand, "If you come with me you can stay there forever. But if you choose not to, you can never get back to Oz."

"I don't understand." Dorothy wanted so badly to grab his hand but her family would be so worried.

"They will not miss you. Once you put these shoes on, all of you will disappear from this world. You were never even born," his hand was still extended toward Dorothy.

"Will Toto come too?"

"Toto too," Dorothy smiled as she remembered all of her friends back in Oz. How much they cared about her and how much they didn't want her to leave. She missed them more than anything.

"I love my family and my friends here, and I know they love me too. They may not show it all the time but they really do," She looked back toward the direction of her house. She sighed and looked back into the man's emerald eyes.

"I want to go home." Dorothy reached out and grasped his hand. She felt a strange sensation on her feet. She looked down to see a sparkling pair of ruby red slippers hugging her feet just like she remembered. She bent down to pick up a distressed Toto.

The man snapped his fingers and the door swung open. He beckoned for her to enter. She turned around one last time to look over the prairies that she had spent so much time trying to get back to, "Goodbye Kansas."

She looked at the man and nodded. He smiled and held out his hand. She grabbed it and stepped down into the darkness that led to Oz.


End file.
